Essay

Legislating relating to Dementia
Mental Health Act 1983
The Mental Health Act of 1983 covers the detention of people deemed a risk to themselves or others. It covers four categories of mental illness: severe mental impairment, mental impairment, psychopathic disorder and mental illness. Psychopathic disorder relate to people who have a "persistent disorder or disability of the mind" which leads to aggression. The Act allows people considered to be mentally ill to be detained in hospital and given treatment against their will. They are usually detained because it is considered in their interests and for their own safety, but they may be held because they are deemed a risk to others, but they do not have to of committed a crime of harmed anyone. Medication for mental disorder can be prescribed and administered to some categories of patients detained under the Mental Health Act without their consent for a period of three months. After that, medication can be administered only in certain circumstances. The Act allows for detention for several different periods. People can be detained against their will for 28 days if two doctors agree to their committal, usually for patients being detained for the first time for assessment. Patients may also be detained for up to six months, but this requires the consent of the person's nearest relative. This order can be renewed after six months and then annually. Patients can also be admitted under an emergency order on the recommendation of a doctor. Patients that are detained voluntarily can be prevented from leaving if they are still deemed a risk to themselves and the public. The Act covers other orders, including guardianship and people detained as a result of a criminal trial.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/260798.stm)
Enduring power of Attorney Act 1985
Supervised community treatment allows someone who has been detained under certain sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 to be discharged from hospital under a Community Treatment Order. Someone who has been kept in hospital under section 3 of the Act or someone diverted to hospital from the criminal justice system under certain sections of the Mental Health Act can be put on a community treatment. Someone on a section 2 or a voluntary patient cannot be put on a CTO.
A community treatment order means that someone has to comply with certain conditions to stay in the community. It may be that they are recalled to hospital if they do not keep to these conditions or if their Responsible Clinician (the person in charge of their care) feels they need to be back in hospital.
(http://www.rethink.org/living_with_mental_illness/coping_in_a_crisis/using_the_mental_hea.html)
People who lack mental capacity need someone else to manage their legal, financial and health affairs. Any person who is aged 18 or older who has the mental ability to make decisions for them self can make the decisions for another person in the future. This legal authority is called 'power of attorney'. The person who is given power of attorney is known as the 'attorney'. The person that they care for can appoint one person as their attorney or they can appoint more than one attorney to act as a 'jointly', meaning they must always make decisions together, or 'jointly and severally', meaning they can make some decisions together and some individually, or 'jointly' on some matters, and 'jointly and severally' on others. It is up to the person who is making the power of attorney to decide how many attorneys they want and how they should act. However, if more than one attorney is appointed to deal with the same issue, then they must act jointly unless the power of attorney states they do not need to. There are three different types of power of attorney, lasting power of attorney (LPA), for matters relating to property and affairs, LPA for matters relating to the person’s welfare and enduring power of attorney (EPA) concerning only property and affairs, made under a previous law, the Enduring Powers of Attorney Act 1985.
The LPA has to be made in a fixed legal way and is not legally recognised until it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. The person making the power of attorney (known as the donor) can register the LPA while they are able to make decisions for themselves. Alternatively, it can be registered by the attorney at any time
There are two separate legal documents, the personal welfare LPA, and the property and affairs LPA. These legal documents can be made and registered at different times, or together. The donor can appoint one attorney or more to act for them regarding both their personal welfare and property and affairs.
(http://www.nhs.uk/CarersDirect/moneyandlegal/legal/Pages/Powerofattorney.aspx)
The Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 came into force in the United Kingdom in October 2000. It is composed of a series of sections that have the effect of codifying the protections in the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. All public bodies such as courts, police and local governments carrying out public functions have to comply with the Convention rights. This means, among other things, that individual’s can take human rights cases in domestic courts; they no longer have to go to Strasbourg to argue their case in the European Court of Human Rights. Humans rights are fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals in the UK have access to. Human rights that can protect people with dementia or other mental illnesses are respect for private and family life, home and correspondence, freedom of thought, belief and religion and protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms.
(http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/human-rights/what-are-human-rights/the-human-rights-act/)
One way in which human rights protect those with dementia or other mental health problems is the right not to be treated in an inhuman or degrading way protects those who are confused and may not be aware of their surrounding being severely mentally or physically suffering or being treated grossly, humiliatingly or undignified.
(http://www.dementiarights.org/examples-of-human-rights-in-health-and-social-care/)
Disability discrimination acts of 1995 and 2005
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 was drawn up to help protect the rights of people with disabilities and enforce the concept of equal opportunities. It was extended by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it unlawful to discriminate against people with a disability in certain areas, including employment, access to goods, facilities and services, and education.
The Disability Discrimination Act protects the rights of people with disabilities and prevents discrimination against them. * Disability discrimination takes place when a person with a disability is treated less favourably than others. This is for a reason relating to the disability, and the less favourable treatment cannot be justified. * A number of areas are covered by the Act, including employment, access to goods, facilities and services, and education * In some limited circumstances, less favourable treatment of a disabled person may be justified. * It is possible to take action if you feel you have been discriminated against due to a disability. http://rethink.org/document.rm?id=699
Care standards act 2000
The most significant task performed by the Care Standards Act 2000 was that it reformed, simplified and extended the registration regime for social care in England and Wales. For children’s services, the Act requires registration of the following services: * children’s homes; * residential family centres; * independent fostering agencies; * voluntary adoption agencies; * Adoption support agencies. http://www.ccinform.co.uk/articles/2007/05/05/1467/the+care+standards+act+2000.html Mental capacity act 2005 (including deprivation of liberty safeguards 2009)
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They aim to make sure that people in care homes and hospitals are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. The safeguards should ensure that a care home or hospital only deprives someone of their liberty in a safe and correct way, and that this is only done when it is in the best interests of the person and there is no other way to look after them. http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1327
The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty safeguards (formerly known as the Bourne wood safeguards) were introduced into the Mental Capacity Act 2005 through the Mental Health Act 2007 (which received Royal Assent in July 2007).
The MCA DOL safeguards apply to anyone: * aged 18 and over * who suffers from a mental disorder or disability of the mind – such as dementia or a profound learning disability * who lacks the capacity to give informed consent to the arrangements made for their care and / or treatment and * For whom deprivation of liberty (within the meaning of Article 5 of the ECHR) is considered after an independent assessment to be necessary in their best interests to protect them from harm.
The safeguards cover patients in hospitals, and people in care homes registered under the Care Standards Act 2000, whether placed under public or private arrangements
The aim is to implement the safeguards in April 2009. The safeguards are designed to protect the interests of an extremely vulnerable group of service users and to: * ensure people can be given the care they need in the least restrictive regimes * prevent arbitrary decisions that deprive vulnerable people of their liberty * provide safeguards for vulnerable people * provide them with rights of challenge against unlawful detention * avoid unnecessary bureaucracy
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/socialcare/deliveringadultsocialcare/mentalcapacity/mentalcapacityactdeprivationoflibertysafeguards/index.htm